US20210066732A1 - Fuel cell system having a medium pressure tap associated with the compressor and use of such a fuel cell system - Google Patents

Fuel cell system having a medium pressure tap associated with the compressor and use of such a fuel cell system Download PDF

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Publication number
US20210066732A1
US20210066732A1 US16/962,194 US201916962194A US2021066732A1 US 20210066732 A1 US20210066732 A1 US 20210066732A1 US 201916962194 A US201916962194 A US 201916962194A US 2021066732 A1 US2021066732 A1 US 2021066732A1
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United States
Prior art keywords
housing
fuel cell
cell system
compressor
valve
Prior art date
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Abandoned
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US16/962,194
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English (en)
Inventor
Dirk Jenssen
Christian Lucas
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Audi AG
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Audi AG
Volkswagen AG
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Publication date
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Assigned to VOLKSWAGEN AG reassignment VOLKSWAGEN AG ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST (SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS). Assignors: JENSSEN, DIRK, LUCAS, CHRISTIAN
Publication of US20210066732A1 publication Critical patent/US20210066732A1/en
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Abandoned legal-status Critical Current

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    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01M—PROCESSES OR MEANS, e.g. BATTERIES, FOR THE DIRECT CONVERSION OF CHEMICAL ENERGY INTO ELECTRICAL ENERGY
    • H01M8/00—Fuel cells; Manufacture thereof
    • H01M8/04—Auxiliary arrangements, e.g. for control of pressure or for circulation of fluids
    • H01M8/04082—Arrangements for control of reactant parameters, e.g. pressure or concentration
    • H01M8/04089—Arrangements for control of reactant parameters, e.g. pressure or concentration of gaseous reactants
    • H01M8/04111—Arrangements for control of reactant parameters, e.g. pressure or concentration of gaseous reactants using a compressor turbine assembly
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01M—PROCESSES OR MEANS, e.g. BATTERIES, FOR THE DIRECT CONVERSION OF CHEMICAL ENERGY INTO ELECTRICAL ENERGY
    • H01M8/00—Fuel cells; Manufacture thereof
    • H01M8/04—Auxiliary arrangements, e.g. for control of pressure or for circulation of fluids
    • H01M8/04082—Arrangements for control of reactant parameters, e.g. pressure or concentration
    • H01M8/04089—Arrangements for control of reactant parameters, e.g. pressure or concentration of gaseous reactants
    • H01M8/04097—Arrangements for control of reactant parameters, e.g. pressure or concentration of gaseous reactants with recycling of the reactants
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01M—PROCESSES OR MEANS, e.g. BATTERIES, FOR THE DIRECT CONVERSION OF CHEMICAL ENERGY INTO ELECTRICAL ENERGY
    • H01M8/00—Fuel cells; Manufacture thereof
    • H01M8/04—Auxiliary arrangements, e.g. for control of pressure or for circulation of fluids
    • H01M8/04223—Auxiliary arrangements, e.g. for control of pressure or for circulation of fluids during start-up or shut-down; Depolarisation or activation, e.g. purging; Means for short-circuiting defective fuel cells
    • H01M8/04231—Purging of the reactants
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01M—PROCESSES OR MEANS, e.g. BATTERIES, FOR THE DIRECT CONVERSION OF CHEMICAL ENERGY INTO ELECTRICAL ENERGY
    • H01M8/00—Fuel cells; Manufacture thereof
    • H01M8/24—Grouping of fuel cells, e.g. stacking of fuel cells
    • H01M8/2465—Details of groupings of fuel cells
    • H01M8/2484—Details of groupings of fuel cells characterised by external manifolds
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01M—PROCESSES OR MEANS, e.g. BATTERIES, FOR THE DIRECT CONVERSION OF CHEMICAL ENERGY INTO ELECTRICAL ENERGY
    • H01M8/00—Fuel cells; Manufacture thereof
    • H01M8/10—Fuel cells with solid electrolytes
    • H01M2008/1095—Fuel cells with polymeric electrolytes
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01M—PROCESSES OR MEANS, e.g. BATTERIES, FOR THE DIRECT CONVERSION OF CHEMICAL ENERGY INTO ELECTRICAL ENERGY
    • H01M8/00—Fuel cells; Manufacture thereof
    • H01M8/04—Auxiliary arrangements, e.g. for control of pressure or for circulation of fluids
    • H01M8/04298—Processes for controlling fuel cells or fuel cell systems
    • H01M8/043—Processes for controlling fuel cells or fuel cell systems applied during specific periods
    • H01M8/04302—Processes for controlling fuel cells or fuel cell systems applied during specific periods applied during start-up
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02E—REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION
    • Y02E60/00—Enabling technologies; Technologies with a potential or indirect contribution to GHG emissions mitigation
    • Y02E60/30—Hydrogen technology
    • Y02E60/50—Fuel cells

Definitions

  • Embodiments of the invention relate to a fuel cell system comprising at least one membrane electrode assembly arranged in a housing, a cathode supply having a compressor and a device for housing ventilation. Embodiments of the invention further relate to the use of the fuel cell system for cathode recirculation.
  • a fuel cell system is used for generating electrical energy by reacting a fuel, in particular hydrogen, with oxygen using the membrane electrode assembly, which has a proton-conducting membrane with an anode electrode on one side and a cathode electrode on the other side.
  • a plurality of membrane electrode assemblies are generally combined to form a stack arranged in the housing.
  • care must be taken that a quantity of oxygen sufficient for the quantity of hydrogen provided is introduced into the housing. In order to ensure that is the case, the compressor is provided.
  • DE 10 2013 003 470 A1 shows a fuel cell system in which the housing has at least one ventilation connection to the environment, and an independent flow to the housing is generated during operation of the compressor as an air conveying device.
  • a fuel cell system of the type mentioned at the outset is designed in such a way that the structure is simplified and the energy requirement is reduced.
  • a further object is to specify a simple method for cathode recirculation.
  • a fuel cell system comprising at least one membrane electrode assembly arranged in a housing, a cathode supply having a compressor and a device for housing ventilation, the device for housing ventilation having a medium pressure tap associated with the compressor.
  • Such a fuel cell system is characterized in that a blower for housing ventilation can be completely omitted, that is to say, this component is dispensed with along with the energy input required for operating this component.
  • a blower for housing ventilation can be completely omitted, that is to say, this component is dispensed with along with the energy input required for operating this component.
  • an air flow is already provided by the compressor. Energy is required for compressing the air flow and the heating thereof that occurs in the process.
  • Embodiments of the invention further optimize the energy input, not only by dispensing with the blower, but also by recognizing that fully compressed air is not required for ventilation, but that a sufficient quantity of air for housing ventilation is also provided at a lower pressure and the medium pressure tap associated with the compressor can be used for housing ventilation. Energy-intensive generation of high pressure solely for the purpose of housing ventilation is avoided.
  • the compressor may have an outlet opening in the region of a medium pressure internally present during operation, said outlet opening being connected via a pressure line to a housing opening of the housing.
  • the medium pressure tap can thus be implemented in a particularly simple manner by forming in the compressor an outlet opening which can be connected to the pressure line otherwise used for the blower.
  • a valve may be associated with the outlet opening and/or the pressure line and/or the housing opening.
  • the valve can be designed as a passive valve which opens automatically when a minimum pressure is exceeded. This ensures that the housing ventilation is only in operating mode when a sufficient quantity of air is also available, that is to say, every air flow in the pressure line leads to reliable housing ventilation, which potentially simplifies monitoring and regulation.
  • An active throttle element may be associated with the medium pressure tap, said throttle element in turn being able to regulate the amount of air tapped, for example, as a function of the measured values of a hydrogen sensor arranged in the housing.
  • the compressor may be selected from a group comprising screw compressors and Roots compressors.
  • screw compressors for example, the pressure increases continuously in the longitudinal direction of the screw, so that the medium pressure tap takes place simply by arranging the outlet opening in the center of the compressor, that is to say, at a sufficient distance from its ends.
  • the housing has an outlet opening for housing ventilation.
  • This outlet opening can most easily lead into the open outdoor environment.
  • a venting line may run from the outlet opening to a turbine outlet downstream of a turbine in order to be able to use the compressed air provided by the compressor further in this way. It is then expedient for a first shut-off valve to be arranged upstream of the compressor and for a second shut-off valve to be arranged at the turbine outlet downstream of the connection of the venting line.
  • a further disadvantage of operating a fuel cell can thus be mitigated or even eliminated, namely damage to the fuel cell if oxygen is present on the anode side and cathode side of the membrane electrode assembly during a start, which leads to the problems of an air-air start which occur whenever oxygen input takes place after the fuel cell system is switched off
  • cathode recirculation serves the purpose of reacting away the remaining oxygen by circulating the system closed by the first shut-off valve and the second shut-off valve.
  • FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic, simplified illustration of a fuel cell system with a compressor modified for the medium pressure tap
  • FIG. 2 illustrates a fuel cell system similar to that of FIG. 1 with a venting line associated with the outlet opening of the housing,
  • FIG. 3 illustrates a fuel cell system similar to that of FIG. 1 suitable for use for cathode recirculation
  • FIG. 4 illustrates a screw compressor comprising the medium pressure tap.
  • FIG. 1 schematically shows a fuel cell system 1 in which a plurality of membrane electrode assemblies 3 are combined to form a stack which is symbolized by a rectangle and is arranged in a housing 2 .
  • this stack must be supplied with operating media, i.e., firstly with the fuel, in particular hydrogen or a hydrogen-containing gas mixture, and secondly with an oxygen-containing gas mixture, in particular air, which forms the cathode operating medium.
  • This air is supplied through a filter to a compressor 4 in which it is compressed and therefore heated.
  • the air is supplied via a charge air cooler 6 to a humidifier 7 and from it to the stack.
  • the hydrogen supplied to the fuel cell 1 can diffuse out of said fuel cell into the housing 2 , so that there exists a risk of a combustible mixture accumulating. This is prevented by a device for housing ventilation, which is implemented with a medium pressure tap 10 associated with the compressor 4 .
  • the compressor 4 can be designed as a screw compressor in which the pressure continuously increases along the longitudinal direction of the screw. If a bore is introduced into the wall of the compressor 4 as the outlet opening 11 , the pressure corresponding to the compressor length prevails at said bore and can be referred to as the medium pressure in comparison to the pressure present at the inlet of the compressor 4 and at the outlet of the compressor 4 .
  • the outlet opening 11 associated with the compressor 4 is connected via a pressure line 12 to a housing opening 13 of the housing 2 , wherein a valve 14 can be associated with the outlet opening 11 and/or the pressure line 12 and/or the housing opening 13 .
  • the valve 14 is arranged in the pressure line 12 , wherein the valve 14 can be designed as a passive valve which opens automatically when a minimum pressure is exceeded in order to ensure that there is an air flow in the pressure line 12 only if the mass flow is also sufficient to ensure the desired housing ventilation.
  • an active throttle element may be associated with the medium pressure tap 10 , said throttle element also being designed as a valve in order to be able to set an upper limit in addition to a lower limit for the mass flow so as to avoid more air being tapped from the compressor 4 than is required for achieving the desired housing ventilation.
  • the housing 2 has an outlet opening 15 for housing ventilation, which opening thus discharges the air to the environment.
  • FIG. 2 shows an alternative exemplary embodiment in which a venting line 16 runs from the outlet opening 15 to a turbine outlet downstream of a turbine 8 so that the air supplied from the compressor 4 to the housing 2 via the medium pressure tap 10 can be used further after use in the housing 2 .
  • FIG. 3 shows another exemplary embodiment in which a first shut-off valve 17 is arranged upstream of the compressor 4 and a second shut-off valve 18 is arranged at the turbine outlet downstream of the connection of the venting line.
  • cathode recirculation can be implemented in a simple manner, which serves to avoid the problem of a so-called air-air start after the restart of a switched-off system, which problem occurs when oxygen is present on the anode side and cathode side of the membranes of the membrane electrode assemblies 3 .
  • Cathode recirculation is initiated upon restart of the fuel cell system by closing the first shut-off valve 17 , closing the second shut-off valve 18 , and sucking in gas from the housing 2 by means of the compressor 4 through the medium pressure tap 10 .
  • the gas entering the compressor 4 through the medium pressure tap 10 is compressed up to the compressor outlet and then flows through the housing 2 to the turbine 8 and via the venting line 16 through the housing 2 back to the compressor 4 .
  • the cathode recirculation causes the residual oxygen present to react.

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  • Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
  • Sustainable Development (AREA)
  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Manufacturing & Machinery (AREA)
  • Sustainable Energy (AREA)
  • Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • Chemical Kinetics & Catalysis (AREA)
  • Electrochemistry (AREA)
  • General Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • Fuel Cell (AREA)
US16/962,194 2018-01-17 2019-01-11 Fuel cell system having a medium pressure tap associated with the compressor and use of such a fuel cell system Abandoned US20210066732A1 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
DE102018200681.4 2018-01-17
DE102018200681.4A DE102018200681A1 (de) 2018-01-17 2018-01-17 Brennstoffzellensystem mit einer dem Verdichter zugeordneten Mitteldruckentnahme sowie Verwendung eines derartigen Brennstoffzellensystems
PCT/EP2019/050670 WO2019141602A1 (de) 2018-01-17 2019-01-11 Brennstoffzellensystem mit einer dem verdichter zugeordneten mitteldruckentnahme sowie verwendung eines derartigen brennstoffzellensystems

Publications (1)

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US20210066732A1 true US20210066732A1 (en) 2021-03-04

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US16/962,194 Abandoned US20210066732A1 (en) 2018-01-17 2019-01-11 Fuel cell system having a medium pressure tap associated with the compressor and use of such a fuel cell system

Country Status (7)

Country Link
US (1) US20210066732A1 (de)
EP (1) EP3665736B1 (de)
JP (1) JP6930033B2 (de)
KR (1) KR102508921B1 (de)
CN (1) CN111587506A (de)
DE (1) DE102018200681A1 (de)
WO (1) WO2019141602A1 (de)

Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP4142000A1 (de) * 2021-08-24 2023-03-01 Hydrogenics Corporation Systeme und verfahren zur belüftung eines brennstoffzellengehäuses

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* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE102019209210A1 (de) * 2019-06-26 2020-12-31 Robert Bosch Gmbh Brennstoffzellensystem mit einer Belüftungsleitung und/oder einer Verdichterbelüftungsleitung, Verfahren zum Belüften eines Gehäuses eines Brennstoffzellensytems sowie Kraftfahrzeug
DE102020216490A1 (de) * 2020-12-22 2022-06-23 Psa Automobiles Sa Brennstoffzellensystem und Verfahren zu dessen Betrieb
JP2022143747A (ja) * 2021-03-18 2022-10-03 本田技研工業株式会社 燃料電池システム及び燃料電池システムの低温起動方法

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DE102006053710A1 (de) * 2006-11-15 2008-05-21 Daimler Ag Brennkraftmaschine mit einem Verdichter im Ansaugtrakt
US20180301720A1 (en) * 2015-10-22 2018-10-18 Volkswagen Ag Arrangement for a cathode recirculation in a fuel cell and method for cathode recirculation

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JP2003132916A (ja) * 2001-10-26 2003-05-09 Honda Motor Co Ltd 燃料電池ボックス換気装置
JP2004360652A (ja) * 2003-06-06 2004-12-24 Toyota Industries Corp ルーツ式圧縮機モジュール
US7553569B2 (en) * 2005-04-14 2009-06-30 Gm Global Technology Operations, Inc. Dynamic cathode gas control for a fuel cell system
DE102010023671A1 (de) * 2010-06-12 2011-12-15 Daimler Ag Brennstoffzellensystem mit einer in einem Gehäuse angeordneten Brennstoffzelle
DE102013003470A1 (de) 2013-03-01 2014-09-04 Daimler Ag Brennstoffzellensystem
DE102015215927A1 (de) * 2015-08-20 2017-02-23 Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft Brennstoffzellensystem sowie Verfahren zum Betreiben eines solchen
US10069155B2 (en) * 2015-08-24 2018-09-04 The Boeing Company Process control for integrated hydrogen storage in fuel cell energy storage system
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JP6483598B2 (ja) * 2015-12-21 2019-03-13 本田技研工業株式会社 燃料電池システム

Patent Citations (3)

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Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20020009629A1 (en) * 2000-03-31 2002-01-24 Andreas Knopp Fuel cell system
DE102006053710A1 (de) * 2006-11-15 2008-05-21 Daimler Ag Brennkraftmaschine mit einem Verdichter im Ansaugtrakt
US20180301720A1 (en) * 2015-10-22 2018-10-18 Volkswagen Ag Arrangement for a cathode recirculation in a fuel cell and method for cathode recirculation

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Machine translation of DE 10 2006 053 710 A1, published on May 21, 2008 (Year: 2008) *

Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP4142000A1 (de) * 2021-08-24 2023-03-01 Hydrogenics Corporation Systeme und verfahren zur belüftung eines brennstoffzellengehäuses

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Publication number Publication date
JP2021502677A (ja) 2021-01-28
WO2019141602A1 (de) 2019-07-25
KR102508921B1 (ko) 2023-03-14
JP6930033B2 (ja) 2021-09-01
EP3665736B1 (de) 2020-09-23
KR20200106884A (ko) 2020-09-15
EP3665736A1 (de) 2020-06-17
DE102018200681A1 (de) 2019-07-18
CN111587506A (zh) 2020-08-25

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